Italiano: ‘Bologna punished for errors at Champions League level’ | OneFootball

Vincenzo Italiano insists he saw improvement in Bologna’s performance against LOSC, but admits ‘you will be punished for errors’ at the level of the Champions League.

The Rossoblu knew this was a must-win game, but they crumbled to their fourth consecutive defeat and are now practically out of the Champions League.

It was the same old story this evening, wasteful in front of goal with an early Thijs Dallinga effort disallowed for offside, then giving away cheap goals at the other end.

Ngal’Ayel Mukau managed to score twice for LOSC at the Stadio Dall’Ara by making the most of poor defending, around the temporary equaliser from Jhon Lucumi on a Charalampos Lykogiannis free kick.

Italiano acknowledges costly Bologna mistakes

BOLOGNA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 27: Jhon Lucumi of Bologna celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 match between Bologna FC 1909 and LOSC Lille at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on November 27, 2024 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

“Compared to the other games, I thought the team was more present all over the pitch, we were more aggressive, but gave away two such cheap goals,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

“We should’ve also continued with that furore after equalising, but we fell for the same error again and that second goal knocked the wind out of our sails.”

The joy and enthusiasm of the equaliser lasted only for three minutes before LOSC restored their advantage and from then on, Bologna crumbled.

“At least we managed to score a goal at last, but the victory is still not coming. We had a few opportunities to improve that today, but we were up against a quality opponent and I thought the overall performance was an improvement,” added Italiano.

“We could’ve done more seeking Freuler behind their strikers, as he had a lot of space to build out from the back in a different way. We only did it in fits and starts, but there were overall some good moves down the flanks, it was just a shame we gifted those goals. It felt from the touchline like a game we could turn around, but we lost that intensity that we needed.”

With one point from five rounds, Bologna are practically out of the running for a play-off spot and their Champions League campaign should come to an end in January.

“We have been able to get out of a negative period in Serie A, aside from the last game where we were down to 10 men. We’ve improved a lot with three consecutive victories, so our objective is to keep improving in the league and climbing a few more positions,” insisted Italiano.

“The trouble in the Champions League is that games are won and lost on details, so you risk defeat with the slightest issue, and that is what happened to us tonight. In all five matches, we played well, but then lost due to details either with our finishing or in defence. You cannot afford those errors at this level, you will be punished.

“We will now go home and try to prepare for the game with Venezia. That is on Saturday, so we don’t have time to work on these details in training and the team is not accustomed to that sort of schedule. I do feel we can improve and whittle down a few of these defects that are costing us dearly,” concluded Italiano.